Speakerology: The Winner

With Biggest Week Yet, Schakowsky Tops Blunt in Finals

House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) put in a valiant effort, easily giving Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) her toughest fight of the Speakerology tournament. But when we asked readers to give their final vote as to who should eventually serve as Speaker of the House (in a nonbinding vote, of course), Schakowsky was still the clear winner: 1,359-529.

Schakowsky issued the following statement after being notified of her victory: “First, I want to thank Roll Call for selecting me as a candidate for Speaker of the House. Though just a game, my many relatives are extremely proud anyway. Second, I say to my worthy opponents, I am proud to be on the same page with you. Third, Jan Fans in Washington and beyond who got caught up in the excitement of Speakerology, I thank them for having such wonderful e-mail lists and proving that Democrats are super-motivated this year. In Chicago, where the game of politics is our favorite contact sport, I send a special thanks to those who voted for me (some perhaps more than once). To my esteemed colleague and true (not-so-distant) future Speaker Nancy Pelosi, I say they ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

Prior to this round, no one other than Schakowsky had broken the 100-vote barrier. But thanks to a posting on the Joplin (Mo.) Independent online news forum, Blunt made a strong run at the title. A reader identified only as “mariwinn” quoted Blunt’s “mighty press secretary” Dan Wadlington as saying, “We can do better than that!” Well, the Blunt team certainly did better than any of the other contenders, but it wasn’t nearly enough to stop the army of “Jan Fans.”

Congratulations, Congresswoman Schakowsky. And thank you to everyone who voted, although our e-mail server is probably just thankful that it’s all over.